Circlet
by CTRH-5
Summary: A few years have passed since The Fall of Beacon and the school has reopened. Many former students have returned and brought with them reminders of the past.
**A/N:**

 **So this is my piece for the** **montyoumproject's fanfic exchange on tumblr.**

 **My prompt was; "A short story about a RWBY character's favorite item and why they brought it to Beacon."**

* * *

Just over two years after the Fall of Beacon, the school reopened. Many of those who had attended Beacon and survived the chaos returned to finish their education. Teams reunited, the surviving members being ecstatic to see those close to them that they had been distant from for those two long years, and those sole survivors quietly mourning the loss of their friends all over again.

Among the returning students were Ruby and Weiss of team RWBY, Dove of team CRDL, the entirety of team CFVY, and Jaune, Nora, and Ren of team JNPR.

Jaune, upon returning to the school, had completely thrown himself into his training. The majority of his free time he spent in the many different training facilities Beacon had to offer. Most days he would begin his work out as soon as the final bell had sounded, running to team JNPR's dorm as fast as he could. From there he would change into his workout clothes and run to whichever facility he would be using that day.

Today was no different.

By the time Jaune was returning to his dorm room, the sun had long since set. He opened the door and entered the room, not bothering to turn on the lights. In the moonlight, he could see Nora and Ren were already asleep. Quietly, he passed the bed they were sharing and made his way to the other side of the room where his bed and dresser were. He took a quick shower and changed into light blue pajama pants and a white tank top.

Without even glancing at his bed, Jaune picked up a plain wood box off the top of his dresser. Tucking it under his arm, he left the dorm and went to the roof. He took a seat in the middle and placed the box down in front of him.

The bronze inlay of a shield and spear emblem shone brightly in the white moonlight, contrasting sharply with the dark mahogany wood.

Jaune made no move to open it. He merely sat there, tracing the tips of his fingers over the emblem.

This had become a nightly ritual for him. Most nights, the box would remain closed.

Tonight however, he chose to open it after a time.

Jaune unlatched and slowly raised the lid. Inside, resting on a bed of red satin lay a bronze circlet. Gingerly, he lifted the headpiece from the box, holding it as though it was made of the most delicate porcelain. Hanging from thin chains, a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds glittered.

His vision blurred with unshed tears as the memories of the night he had received the circlet pushed their way forward.

•••

 _Inside the "safe zone" that had been established in Vale, Jaune sat against a wall in a wrecked courtyard, surrounded by Huntsmen and students. The injured were off to one side, attended to by medics and volunteers while those who were relatively unscathed milled about, finding lost family and teammates._

 _With most of Jaune's friends either being injured or missing, the only person near him was Weiss. From the looks of things, she was not doing much better than he was. The fear for their missing partners and worry for their injured comrades ate at them, leaving them to both sit in silence, feeling helpless. At one point, the commotion of someone arriving caught Weiss's attention and she left, but he hardly noticed her go._

 _He barely noticed anything going on around him, to the point where when an older Huntsman walked up to him, he did not react until the man shook his shoulder. The sudden contact startled him into looking up, locking eyes with the greying haired man. Jaune recognized him as Ruby's uncle, Qrow._

 _With a murmured explanation, something about nothing else being left, Qrow held out a familiar bronze circlet to Jaune._

 _Hands trembling, he took the circlet as grief flooded his entire being._

•••

Jaune wiped away the tears that had begun to fall while he was lost in the memory. Looking at the shattered moon above, he took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. He let himself fall backwards so he was laying down, holding the circlet to his chest and staring up at the night sky.

Despite all the pain that came every time he saw it, the headpiece was his most prized possession. It was his last real connection to her, to Pyrrha, and he would never give it up.


End file.
